The school in the village of Malagakit was the scene of a clash between the armed men and members of the Philippine Army’s 34th Infantry Battalion.

Inspector Realan Emamon, chief of the Pigcawayan police, said they received reports about the unidentified number of armed men at around 5.45am, reports ABS-CBN News.

Philippines Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana earlier said 40 militants from the BIFF and the Ansar Al-Khilafah Philippines have joined forces with Maute terrorists locked in battle with government troops in Marawi City.

Lt. Col. Jo-Ar Herrera, spokesperson of the Joint Task Force Marawi, earlier said many of the outsiders came to Marawi using the cover of an Islamic prayer festival in the city last month.

The seizing of the city by Maute and its allies on the island of Mindanao is the biggest warning yet that the Islamic State is building a base in Southeast Asia and bringing the brutal tactics seen in Iraq and Syria in recent years to the region.